Rowley Lane in Barnet, Hertfordshire has been the home of Jewish sport and especially football in the London community since 2002. Now we need your help to raise £500,000 in 48 hours, to keep Rowley Lane running and undertake critical refurbishments and unplanned works. With your help and support, this money will ensure a sustainable future and Rowley Lane’s place in the Jewish community as a sporting home for future generations.
In normal times, week in, week out, thousands of players and families of all ages play or watch sport, enjoying being with their team mates and friends and competing in healthy outdoor activity. For everyone from age five to the over 55s, Rowley Lane provides outstanding facilities that are a credit to our community. Six pitches, a floodlit stadium, 3G facilities, clubhouse and changing rooms, an on-site nursery and 50 acres of green land – the facilities are unrivalled.
Rowley Lane started life as the Laing Sports Club. In 2002 it was purchased for the London Lions Football Club, born out of the old M.A.L. Club, as a base for its fast-improving non-league squad. They had always been a nomadic team, but had wanted a home to build a stable future and a club beyond the one men’s football side. But even then, the scale couldn’t have quite been imagined.
A youth section was quickly established and over time significant investment was made in more pitches, including an artificial 3G pitch that catered for a huge number of teams; making it one of the biggest and best grass roots sports centres in Hertfordshire and the biggest centre for Jewish sport in the country.
The facilities couldn’t quite keep up with the success of the London Lions first team, who climbed the leagues to compete at higher levels and were forced to go on the road again to comply with the requirements to play in higher leagues and the FA Cup – giving Jewish footballers the chance to compete at the best level possible. But in 2015, the Alan Mattey Stand was opened and a new top pitch allowed the first team to return home, as the facilities on offer were again invested in.
Rowley Lane today
Rowley Lane today is a hub of daily sport, whether training or matches, to give kids and adults the chance to compete at all ages and a range of abilities; all with the Jewish community at its heart. Maccabi London FC is at the centre of activity, now with girls’ football growing each year too.
When the Brady Maccabi Youth and Community Centre finally closed in 2008, the board along with the London Maccabi and Maccabi Foundation trustees felt it was right to move to Rowley Lane with the idea of joining forces with Maccabi London Lions in the years to come.
The merger of Maccabi London Lions and Brady Maccabi finally came to fruition in 2019 and it saw the start of a new era for the Jewish community at Rowley Lane, but it will never forget its history and its journey via the East End of London, Compayne Gardens and Edgware.
As well as this, Rowley Lane has been home to lacrosse, cricket, a Herts football refereeing development centre and many other sporting and social events. Rowley Lane also serves as a key training hub for the Great Britain Maccabiah Games squad who compete in international tournaments, representing the best in sporting excellence in our community.
What it means
Rowley Lane is more than just a place to play football. It’s a place where Jewish people of all ages come to feel part of a team, make friendships that last for life and keep mentally and physically fit while enjoying their sport. For some, it may be their only contact with the Jewish community, and it is a place where kids and adults can make memories and achieve successes; where leadership, winning and losing are all learnt in a safe, happy environment. A sporting home to more than 2,000 people each week from all walks of life.
The commitment and support of many, to deliver and reinvest in the facilities, have made Rowley Lane an extraordinary place for football, sport and the Jewish community.
Now we need your help
Maccabi London is dedicated to providing a community home for the sporting and social benefit of all its users, but with your help and passion, we are hoping to raise £500,000 in 48 hours.
£150,000 of this money will be used to keep the place running, while £350,000 will be used to undertake refurbishments and unplanned works on two junior pitches that will maintain facilities for future generations of Jewish sport.
We have already made a good start, as some of the charity’s key benefactors have generously agreed to match fund the campaign up to £250,000. This means that for every £1 that we raise £2 goes towards our target of £500,000.
Please help us to help others to make this happen. Any support you can give, at whatever level, will be gratefully welcomed.
Rowley Lane is more than just a sporting facility, it is a place where friendships are created and last a lifetime. It is more than a home; MLFC is more than a football club. They are part of our life, our community and our children’s future. With your help and support, we can ensure a sustainable future and Rowley Lane’s place in the Jewish community as a sporting home for future generations.
Please click here to donate.
